


Pulling an All-Nighter

by Darkhymns



Series: Fic Request Challenge [5]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, F/M, Pining, Prompt Fic, Slight fluff, Study Date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29231448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/pseuds/Darkhymns
Summary: Lloyd and books don't get along - especially history books. But Colette has always found a way to make things more interesting to him.
Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving
Series: Fic Request Challenge [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153589
Comments: 10
Kudos: 9





	Pulling an All-Nighter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sureimiku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sureimiku/gifts).



> This was a fic request on twitter that got away from me. :'D The idea was too adorable, thank you so much for the prompt! 
> 
> All other requests will be filled [here](https://twitter.com/darkhymns/status/1357787547464658944) if you'd like to check!

When Lloyd woke up, both he and Colette were curled around each other, still seated on the plush chairs of a small studying table in the campus library. A nearby clock on the wall showed him the time… 5:30 am. The automatic lights around them were dimmed, with only a few snoring students nearby, laying on couches and other tables.

Why were they here again?

_ Oh right… she was helping me study, _ he thought with a wide-cracked yawn.

It wasn’t much of an exaggeration to say that Lloyd’s grades were teetering on the very edge of failure. At least, that was what his professor seemed to imply.

Normally, he wouldn’t go anywhere _ near _ a campus library; with its narrow aisles of bookcases, its so-called ‘be quiet’ rules, and the weird musty smell of old paper and bindings that would make his head spin. Not if his life literally depended on it.

Which, it very well might have. Again, according to his professor. He was beginning to wonder if he should just drop this class already…

And then Colette would remind him why he never would.

“I have all the notes from Professor Sage’s classes for the past month that we can go over!” Lloyd heard the crinkling of paper along with Colette’s cheerful voice from earlier that day, being a bit preoccupied with laying his head on the table in despair, folded arms covering his eyes.

“…This sounds like a lot of notes,” he whined (somewhat muffled). He thought he could also feel the very weight of the table creak as Colette put down all her books. He always wondered how she could carry so much across campus.

“Hehe, some of it is from when I went to her office after hours. She always has so much to say about the Balacruf era.”

Lloyd groaned loudly, so loud that another student from a nearby table shushed him.  _ Ugh, this always happens! _ But he was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

“It’s not like anyone cares about history now,” he whispered to Colette. It was in the past! And the past was dumb and boring! “It’s always full of old guys…doing stupid things…” If he had to hear about how another old fogey king started another useless war, he was going to smash his head against the wall.

“Hm, well this one for midterm is a bit different, I think.” Colette gently nudged his shoulder to get his attention, and he raised his head just a fraction to see. Her textbook was open to a page that actually had a picture on it! A detailed sketch of a woman carrying a wooden staff, wearing what looked like a white cap and a flowing outfit to match with it. She was standing in the middle of a stone dais, its floor etched with an emblem made up of concentric circles and other symmetrical patterns.

He squinted his eyes. “…I don’t remember this at all.” 

If it had been Genis helping him, he knew he’d get a long-winded sigh and a shaking head. But Colette seemed more than happy to explain, her hand still on his shoulder, pressing warmly against his jacket. “We were learning about a maiden named Aisha, who was chosen to be a sacrifice for the local wind spirit. People believed the spirit gave them good seasons for their crops, so they chose her to be their offering.”

Lloyd frowned. “Well, that’s stupid. People shouldn’t be sacrificed for anything!” He lowered his head back into his arms. He figured he knew how this story would go...

“She didn’t get sacrificed actually! She was saved by both her brother and fiancé when they revealed that the spirit was just a trick from a traveling soldier.”

That was when Lloyd raised his head up completely, his hair a bit lop-sided from laying down. “Wait, you didn’t mention that!”

Colette giggled. “Well, you didn’t let me finish! They had to destroy the dais with explosives before they could expose the fake spirit. And from then on, they didn’t have any more sacrifices.”

“Good for them!” Another shush but Lloyd was going to ignore it! He couldn’t believe history could be full of smart people like this. “Is there more stuff like that?”

Maybe there was something in Colette’s smile that was different, and the way she looked at him a fraction of a second longer before she turned back to the book. Her hand on his shoulder still felt warm.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking.

“Yeah! The story about it is in this book… and the rest in this pile too!” Colette gestured to a stack of heavy, thick textbooks, their bindings a bit crumbled.

Lloyd’s heart sank. “But, I don’t want to read ANY books!” And then another shush!  _ Oh, come on! _

“Hmm, well, what if we read it together?” Colette offered. “I don’t have any more classes today.”

“…You really okay spending all that time studying with me?” He couldn’t imagine a worse fate, but she only smiled at the idea.

“Of course, Lloyd! We’re not in many classes together, and if I can help you with this one, I’d be happy.”

“Well, okay then!” How long would it take to read a small section of a book anyway?

It turned out that Lloyd was a very slow reader.

Now, eight hours later, his arm was wrapped around Colette’s shoulder, the book, (which apparently they used for a pillow?) still beneath their heads. He could hear her soft breathing, see how her hair spread out across the table. He should wake her up soon…but in this place full of old books, he just watched her sleep. He didn’t want to move just yet. It was the first time he ever felt comfortable in a library.

It really was true that no matter what, even with the boring lectures, Lloyd wouldn’t drop this class for anything.

Colette was in it, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Much of this is based on memories of me falling asleep at my own campus library from years back lol.
> 
> Also, stole a certain Lloyd quote from [here](https://likes-words-and-shrimp.tumblr.com/post/174342861250) (He does not like books).


End file.
